Double Triple gets $100,000 minimum

October 05, 1991|By Marty McGee

A major switch in the Double Triple wager will be in effect at Laurel Race Course next Saturday. The track will begin offering a $100,000 minimum jackpot that day, and the minimum wager will be raised from $3 to $5.

Management had been pondering such a change for several months. Officials are hoping the $100,000 minimum will spur betting in the gimmick, which has traditionally taken weeks to "snowball" into sizable numbers.

"I hope it will do that, but I don't necessarily think it will [encourage betting]," said Jim Mango, track vice president. "This is an innovative wager, not the end-all or answer-all. It's a new type of wager for the discriminatory bettor."

Given that 37.5 percent of Double Triple wagers carry over on a daily basis, it would take roughly $267,000 in bets to net a $100,000 carry-over. Track president Joe De Francis said six days is an approximate break-even mark for the new arrangement, but "we're willing to take the risk," he said.

De Francis declined to set a time limit on how long the minimum jackpot would be offered, but said if the bet were hit right away, the track would "probably" continue offering it, "hopefully to see what type of impact it will have on business."

Racing ends at the current Pimlico Race Course meeting Tuesday, then begins Thursday at Laurel.